If you only remember one point about getting a security deposit back in Alaska, remember this: The cap is 2 months' rent (no statutory cap if monthly rent exceeds $2,000). The return deadline is 14 days if proper notice and no damage deductions; 30 days if deductions are taken or notice was improper, with itemization. Interest: No statewide interest requirement. Procedure, examples, and the opinions below hang off Alaska Stat. § 34.03.070. Wrongful withholding may support actual damages and, in bad-faith cases, additional statutory penalties under the Alaska URLTA.
Interest and accounting
No statewide interest requirement.
Walking through Alaska facts
Use this walkthrough to see which Alaska authority does the work at each step.
A residential tenant moves out of a Alaska rental and the landlord has not returned the deposit.
- Check the cap that applied when the deposit was collected: 2 months' rent (no statutory cap if monthly rent exceeds $2,000).
- Calendar the return deadline: 14 days if proper notice and no damage deductions; 30 days if deductions are taken or notice was improper, with itemization
- Interest, if any: No statewide interest requirement.
- If the landlord keeps money without the required accounting: Wrongful withholding may support actual damages and, in bad-faith cases, additional statutory penalties under the Alaska URLTA.
Alaska Stat. § 34.03.070 generally limits deposits to two months’ rent except for higher-rent units. Landlords must return the deposit and itemize deductions on the 14- or 30-day track. Small-claims actions in district court are the usual enforcement path.
Penalties for wrongful withholding
Wrongful withholding may support actual damages and, in bad-faith cases, additional statutory penalties under the Alaska URLTA.
Practical process for tenants and landlords
Alaska Stat. § 34.03.070 generally limits deposits to two months’ rent except for higher-rent units. Landlords must return the deposit and itemize deductions on the 14- or 30-day track. Small-claims actions in district court are the usual enforcement path.
Document the unit with dated photos or video at move-in and move-out, keep the lease and any inspection checklist, and send a dated written demand if the deadline passes without a lawful accounting.
Related Alaska guides
Case law: security deposits in Alaska
Sande WRIGHT, Appellant, v. James and Catherine VICKARYOUS, Appellees; James and Catherine VICKARYOUS
…July 13. 9 . Wright also received a $1,000.00 offset for a security deposit which is uncontested. 10 .At the end of the first half of the trial, the trial court said that it was giving Wright “one week in which to perfect [his] appeal.” The Vickaryouses allege that Wright’s failure to appeal within seven days waived his right to challenge the decision on possession of the farm…
On security deposits, Sande WRIGHT, Appellant, v. James and Catherine VICKARYOUS, Appellees; James and Catherine VICKARYOUS speaks to the Alaska dispute in this passage: "July 13. 9 . Wright also received a $1,000.00 offset for a security deposit which is uncontested. 10 .At the end of the first half of the trial, the trial court said that it was giving Wright “one week in which to perfect [his] appeal." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.
Diana L. FYFFE and Stephen R. Pierce, Appellants, v. Pattie WRIGHT, Ken Gill, Rick Fickel, and Kelly Fickel, Appellees
…s ability to deduct damages and unpaid rent from a tenant’s security deposit. It is not an instruction to a reviewing court as to how to measure the damages the landlord and tenant owe each other. The superior court was under no obligation to demand from Wright an itemized list of the specific physical harms to her property that Fyffe allegedly caused, nor was it barred from re…
Practitioners open Diana L. FYFFE and Stephen R. Pierce, Appellants, v. Pattie WRIGHT, Ken Gill, Rick Fickel, and Kelly Fickel, Appellees when Alaska security deposits turns on the distinction in this sentence: "It is not an instruction to a reviewing court as to how to measure the damages the landlord and tenant owe each other." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Wiley F. and L'Marie BEAUX, Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. Jack anBeauxd Janet JACOB, Appellees/Cross-Appellants
…breach of contract, retaliatory eviction, failure to return security deposits, and violation of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, 23 arose out of the statute for purposes of an attorney's fees award. 24 Similarly, Arizona courts have held that a contractual provision for attorney's fees entitling the prevailing party in an action "arising out of" the contract to…
Alaska opinions such as Wiley F. and L'Marie BEAUX, Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. Jack anBeauxd Janet JACOB, Appellees/Cross-Appellants are cited where security deposits is disputed. The court stated: "Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, 23 arose out of the statute for purposes of an attorney's fees award." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Sue SULLIVAN and Patrick McCabe, Appellants, v. Latha SUBRAMANIAN, Appellee
…g new claims for retaliatory eviction and failure to return security deposits. Subramanian again denied the allegations; she also counterclaimed against McCabe for deliberately breaking the apartment building's front door and failing to pay the December rent. After conducting a non-jury trial, Superior Court Judge Peter A. Michalski entered written findings of fact and a final…
Alaska opinions such as Sue SULLIVAN and Patrick McCabe, Appellants, v. Latha SUBRAMANIAN, Appellee are cited where security deposits is disputed. The court stated: "Subramanian again denied the allegations; she also counterclaimed against McCabe for deliberately breaking the apartment building's front door and failing to pay the December rent. After conducting a non-jury trial, Superior Court Judge Peter A." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Jason WOOTEN, D/B/A Glynwood Apartments, and Dennis Ray Skan, Appellants, v. Jason HINTON, Lydia Martinez, Robert
…te this case with a different action regarding the tenants' security deposits. On January 17, 2007, the tenants opposed the motion to consolidate and notified the court that they had reached a "global settlement" and would "be filing a stipulated dismissal of this case with prejudice in accordance with Civil Rule 4l(a)." The tenants also notified the court that they had sent a…
Alaska opinions such as Jason WOOTEN, D/B/A Glynwood Apartments, and Dennis Ray Skan, Appellants, v. Jason HINTON, Lydia Martinez, Robert are cited where security deposits is disputed. The court stated: "On January 17, 2007, the tenants opposed the motion to consolidate and notified the court that they had reached a 'global settlement' and would 'be filing a stipulated dismissal of this case with prejudice in accordance with Civil Rule 4l(a)." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Samuel SENGUL, and Cross-Appellee v. CMS FRANKLIN, INC. and Robert Manus, and
…the next month and a half, it did not make *323any rent or security deposit payments to Sengul. According to Sengul, he and Manus spoke two or three times in June and July, and Manus stated: "I know I'm late. I'm going to pay you in full, and I'm going to make it up to you." Manus, however, claims that Sengul did not ask for rent until late July and alleges that he responded t…
Practitioners open Samuel SENGUL, and Cross-Appellee v. CMS FRANKLIN, INC. and Robert Manus, and when Alaska security deposits turns on the distinction in this sentence: "Sengul. According to Sengul, he and Manus spoke two or three times in June and July, and Manus stated: 'I know I'm late. I'm going to pay you in full, and I'm going to make it up to you." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Sandra SMITH, Appellant, v. GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee
Sandra SMITH, Appellant, v. GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee, 1981 Alas. LEXIS 507 (1981)
…e with the terms of this agreement, Hocken-bury paid a $100 security deposit and was given a key so that he could begin moving in. It was agreed that payment of rent would begin “as soon as [Hockenbury] got moved in” and that, in the meantime, Johnson would see that the carpet was cleaned. On July 5, Hockenbury called Fairbanks Municipal Utilities System to request that electri…
Alaska opinions such as Sandra SMITH, Appellant, v. GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee are cited where security deposits is disputed. The court stated: "Hocken-bury paid a $100 security deposit and was given a key so that he could begin moving in. It was agreed that payment of rent would begin “as soon as [Hockenbury] got moved in” and that, in the meantime, Johnson would see that the carpet was cleaned." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Tuyen Dinh v. Matthew Raines and Melissa Clayton
Tuyen Dinh v. Matthew Raines and Melissa Clayton, 544 P.3d 1156 (2024)
…ut notice or permission, failure to return or account for a security deposit, and failure to maintain a habitable dwelling. Raines also alleged that Dinh had housed three people in the basement who were “using/stealing” electricity, fuel, cable, and internet. Raines hired a heating technician to trace the fuel and electricity lines going into the boiler and the hot water and he…
Tuyen Dinh v. Matthew Raines and Melissa Clayton is worth reading on Alaska security deposits because the court put the point in its own words: "Raines also alleged that Dinh had housed three people in the basement who were “using/stealing” electricity, fuel, cable, and internet." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.
Key takeaways
- Maximum deposit: 2 months' rent (no statutory cap if monthly rent exceeds $2,000)
- Return deadline: 14 days if proper notice and no damage deductions; 30 days if deductions are taken or notice was improper, with itemization
- Interest: No statewide interest requirement.
- Penalties: Wrongful withholding may support actual damages and, in bad-faith cases, additional statutory penalties under the Alaska URLTA.
- Primary authority: Alaska Stat. § 34.03.070.
Deposit limits in Alaska
2 months' rent (no statutory cap if monthly rent exceeds $2,000)
When the deposit must be returned
14 days if proper notice and no damage deductions; 30 days if deductions are taken or notice was improper, with itemization
Frequently asked questions
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Alaska?
2 months' rent (no statutory cap if monthly rent exceeds $2,000)
How long does a landlord have to return my deposit?
14 days if proper notice and no damage deductions; 30 days if deductions are taken or notice was improper, with itemization
What if my landlord keeps the deposit without an itemized list?
Wrongful withholding may support actual damages and, in bad-faith cases, additional statutory penalties under the Alaska URLTA.
This guide covers Alaska residential security-deposit law as of 2026. Commercial leases and local ordinances can differ — verify the statute that applies to your unit.